They say that anticipation of something good is better than the actual experience.

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FullerH

Joined
Nov 25, 1998
Messages
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Well, I am now about 8 months in to a 2 1/2 year backlog on a sword by Patrick Barta of the Czech Republic. His work is extraordinary in that he does not make replicas of old swords, he makes new versions of the old swords in exactly the same manner as they made the originals. For instance, he starts with charcoal and iron ore to make a sword blade. His work is also extraordinarily beautiful. I have saved for about 5 years to afford one of his better swords to augment the Roman Riding Sword of his that I got in 2002. The Roman Riding Sword is one of his entry level swords costing $250 when I bought mine and a steal at the price. It is still a reasonably good buy at 400 EUROs.

In any case, I am feeling rather down from bad allergies today and I have been perking myself up by giving a bit of thought to the logistics of having Triton make a suspension system for the sword and scabbard when it finally arrives. BTW, Patrick is confidant enough in his work and in his customers/patrons that he does not ask for money up front. When your sword nears completion, he sends you a bill and asks that you send him the requisite amount of EUROs by whatever means you have agreed to do so. I like his way of doing business. :)

If you are curious about Patrick, here is his English home page and you can click on the topics under "Making of Weapons" to see how he goes about it.
http://www.templ.net/english/

The sword that I have on order is his number 118 under "Antiquity and early middle age". It is a recreation of an Anglo-Saxon sword found in the Thames River near Abingdon in England and it is, to my way of thnking, a strikingly handsome piece.
 
That's a nice looking piece.

In fact, many of his weapons are complete works of art.

How did you find him? He'd be a great contributor to BFC.
 
In August of 2001, I was looking around for my first real sword and I asked over at SwordForum about a gorgeous sword that they were then using as their logo. Someone said that it was made by Patrick Barta, a smith from the Czech Republic who was just getting started. I looked him up and sent him an email about his number 102 Roman Riding Sword. He said that he could send it to me by March of 2002, so I ordered it at the price of $250, which was how he was pricing at that time. When it arrived, I was extremely impressed. When I later began to look at other swords and daggers for sale and compared them to Patrick's, they came up short. A friend who has been in re-enacting for many years finally sat me down and explained just how great a deal that sword had been and that I should not be judging others by it.

BTW, the sword that SFI had been using at that time was Patrick's number 103, German Sword "Spatha," whuch he had priced at about $4,000 at that time. I asked him who could afford that sort of price and he said that people who bought one of his less expensive swords usually came back to buy one or more of his more expensive pieces. He was right! When I got my Roman Riding Sword, I began saving for one of his more expensive pieces, I just did not know which one at that time. When I had gotten enough money to begin to seriously look, the one that really struck me was that Abingdon Sword, number 118. It is very possible that my living history activities in the 9th-11th Century Anglo-Saxons and Vikings has influenced my choice as I have become rather familiar with the cultures. I especially love the engraving on the silver plated pommel and guard.

As to his participating in BladeForums, his English is not too good although miles and miles better than my Czech, and he doesn't seem to participate in any of the forums in the States of which I am aware. But I should really like it if he did. I suspect, however, that he is just too busy for that. He has a 2 1/2 year backlog, remember.

BTW, the sword that I truly lust for is the number 115 Spatha Sword. This is a modern recreation of the sword found in the king's burial ship at Sutton Hoo in East Anglia. If ever a sword could be worth that much, this one is it!
 
FullerH said:
A friend who has been in re-enacting for many years finally sat me down and explained just how great a deal that sword had been and that I should not be judging others by it.
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That's one of the more exciting comments I've heard this week--talk about a testament!
FullerH said:
I suspect, however, that he is just too busy for (BFC). He has a 2 1/2 year backlog, remember.
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Good point... after he finishes your sword, he should consider joining up here.
 
I have to say I think I'm nearly as excited about working on this project as Hugh is about getting the sword! There are perhaps 3 other makers in the world that I am aware of (okay maybe 4) that are capable of doing the work that Mr. Barta does. Of those 4 so far as I know only one is still taking orders, the other three simply do what they feel like doing and never lack for buyers. I own a sword by one of those smiths, I may have the opportunity to purchase one from one of the others. The others I never expect to own anything from. To be involved in such a project even peripherally truly is an honor.
 
Yep, I have asked Triton to make a suitable suspension system for the sword and scabbard. As I said, I was a bit down yesterday, so I was fantaqsizing in some downtime and thinking about how I would handle it when I got the sword. Triton will need both the sword and the scabbard to do a proper job on a custom suspension for it and I have suggested that he might play a bit (very carefully) with the sword and take some pictures for posting while he has it so that we can do a joint review. There is a fellow over at MyArmoury who ordered and received one of Patrick's Sutton Hoo swords and took it out back to try lopping branches with it. Now, we're talking 3200 EUROs or about $4350US at current exchange rates here. He is a braver man than I am. I doubt that I'll be doing anything like that with my somewhat less expensive one.
 
FullerH said:
Yep, I have asked Triton to make a suitable suspension system for the sword and scabbard. As I said, I was a bit down yesterday, so I was fantaqsizing in some downtime and thinking about how I would handle it when I got the sword. Triton will need both the sword and the scabbard to do a proper job on a custom suspension for it and I have suggested that he might play a bit (very carefully) with the sword and take some pictures for posting while he has it so that we can do a joint review. There is a fellow over at MyArmoury who ordered and received one of Patrick's Sutton Hoo swords and took it out back to try lopping branches with it. Now, we're talking 3200 EUROs or about $4350US at current exchange rates here. He is a braver man than I am. I doubt that I'll be doing anything like that with my somewhat less expensive one.
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SAY WHAT?????:eek: :eek: :eek: I missed that one. I'm going to have to go look that up... jeez :confused:
 
FullerH: It is a stunning, beautiful sword. I think the actual experience of owning such a masterpiece will be better than the anticipation. If it were mine, I would be chopping no branches with it.:eek:
 
Well, VP, I exspect that you are right, but all I can do for the next nearly two years is find joy in anticipation. :)
 
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